Recognizing the Signs of Hypoglycemia

The signs of hypoglycemia (also known as low blood sugar) are easy to recognize once you become aware of what they are. They are often at the root of many physiological and psychological conditions, syndromes or symptoms, but mainstream medicine fails to recognize its prevalence. Low blood sugar is a very common occurrence in our society, but often goes undiagnosed because of lack of awareness. It can imitate practially every medical condition we know of and is often misdiagnosed or labeled as hypochondriasis.

In lay terms, hypoglycemia is when your blood glucose levels drop too low and your body and brain can't function properly. Glucose is your body's primary source of energy. It is absorbed from the foods you eat and distributed to the cells in your body. The brain is very sensitive to the levels of blood sugar and needs glucose to function adequately. It is fuel for the brain. The brain doesn't have the ability to store glucose so it needs a continuous supply from the blood. It extracts it from the blood as it does oxygen. If the brain does not have enough oxygen or glucose it can go into a coma. The first signs of hypoglycemia to occur are often shaking or trembling in between meals, weakness and ravenous hunger.
Causes of Hypoglycemia Hypoglycemia occurs when the body does not metabolize blood glucose properly. Abnormal metabolism can be caused by a variety of factors such as:

• Excess refined sugar and white flour in your diet
• Pancreatic or adrenal underactivity or overactivity
• Excessive use of alcohol, tobacco, and coffee or other products with caffeine
• Overeating of refined carbohydrates
• Allergies
• Severe emotional stress that doesn't go away

Probably one of the biggest causes of hypoglycemia is the consumption of excess refined sugar, white flour and other refined carbohydrates.  Our bodies were not designed genetically or physiologically equipped to metabolize the mass amount of refined food, which is stripped of any nutritional value, found in the typical diet of this day and age.  This creates a continuous strain and abuse on your body's organs, such as the pancreas, the liver, the adrenals and other endocrine glands.  The continuous ingestion of empty refined foods leads to malfunctioning of the glandular and metabolic systems.

Hypoglycemia Symptoms

Hypoglycemia symptoms can be mild, moderate or severe and may consist of any of the following:

• Alcoholism
• Sweating
• Shaking between meals
• Crankiness
• Weakness
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Confusion
• Inability to concentrate
• Nervousness
• Tingling
• Pounding/racing heart
• Speech difficulties
• Fuzzy head
• Mood swings
• Feeling faint
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Melancholy
• Depression
• Obsessive/compulsive behavior
• Slurred speech
• Poor coordination
• Glassy eyes
• Headaches
• Migraines

Severe hypoglycemia symptoms, which require immediate medical attention would include:

• Unresponsiveness
• Highly agitated
• Unconsciousness
• Convulsions

Hypoglycemia also plays a major role in alcoholism. If we look over the list of hypoglycemia symptoms, we see many common symptoms that recovering alcoholics struggle with every day. That’s because even though they’ve given up the alcohol, they are still eating sugar and other refined carbohydrates and caught in the vicious cycle of hypoglycemia. The so-called “dry drunk” syndrome is really nothing more than low blood sugar.

This is important because it is these uncomfortable and sometimes unbearable symptoms that are a frequent cause of relapse. When blood sugar drops, the alcoholic will have a continuous desire to self-medicate, which often leads to a drink or a drug. Additionally, hypoglycemia makes you crave sweets to bring your blood sugar up again. The alcoholic’s body is accustomed to receiving its sugar in an ultra fast and concentrated dose - through alcohol - so sugar alone often doesn’t do the trick and instead of craving sugar when the blood sugar drops, they crave alcohol.

What happens when we eat sugar and other refined foods? They are absorbed into the bloodstream very quickly and raise the blood glucose level to abnormally high levels at a very fast pace, which gives us a boost in neurotransmitters we often feel when eating sweets. These are critical neurotransmitters that are involved in the reward pathway and at the root of addiction, as well as the governor of our mood states and most other body functions. This causes the pancreas to overreact with an emergency response and releases an excessive amount of insulin into the bloodstream to try and bring the blood sugar back to normal. The excessive amount of insulin brings the blood sugar down, but it brings it down too low and it brings it down too fast. This is when hypoglycemia symptoms occur.

The body then calls on the adrenal glands to release cortisol to bring the blood sugar levels back to normal. Too much demand is placed on the adrenal glands and pancreas as they must go through this scenario each and every time you eat refined foods and sugar. Over time, this vicious cycle wears away at the adrenal glands and they no longer produce cortisol in sufficient amounts or peform their duties adequately. This causes blood sugar levels to remain at a sub-optimal state constantly, which perpetuates hypoglycemia further and leads to adrenal fatigue as well as contributing to neurotransmitter deficiencies or imbalances.

When we provide our body with the natural sugar it needs from whole food sources rather than refined white sugar or other simple carbohydrates and eat adequate protein, then this cycle does not ensue. Everything functions as it should in the body, the blood sugar stays balanced and hypoglycemia symptoms don’t occur.

You may feel a little confused by the fact that we’re talking about the body needing sugar to keep the blood sugar stable, since we already established that sugar is bad for you, but the difference is we’re not talking about refined white sugar. We’re talking about “natural sugars.” The body needs healthy sugar that comes from whole food sources like apples, berries oranges, nuts, vegetables and other complex carbohydrates, but not refined white sugar or simple carbohydrates.

White refined sugar contains no nutritional value for the body and is not really a food. It’s a chemical that damages the body in many ways. However, natural sugar from “whole food” sources is essential for the body in limited amounts. It provides the brain and body with nutrients it needs to function adequately and the signs of hypoglycemia will not appear.

Hypoglycemia Diet

To keep blood sugar stable and avoid hypoglycemia symptoms it’s necessary to avoid eating refined sugars or any food that easily converts to sugar. Your hypoglycemia diet should consist of foods that take a while to digest so there won’t be a rapid rise in blood sugar and then the plummet that causes hypoglycemia symptoms. Foods that digest slowly consist of meat, fish, eggs, yogurt, cheese, beans, nuts and seeds, and complex carbohydrates, which are whole grains, fresh vegetables, and fresh whole fruits—not juice. Although beans, whole grains and cheese are on this list, there is great debate in the health field, whether these foods are really good for us at all. It’s best to at least keep these foods to a minimum.

No alcohol, tobacco or caffeine, because all three of these perpetuate the cycle of hypoglycemia by dumping excess sugar in the bloodstream. Reduce emotional stress as much as possible. Stress releases sugar into the bloodstream; so if you have excessive stress, your body will repeatedly be putting out too much sugar. For stress that can’t be eliminated, find ways to cope effectively with the use of exercise, meditation, massage, counseling, etc.

On the hypoglycemia diet, meals must be eaten consistently at regular intervals. If you go too long without food, then your blood sugar levels drop. Many people with hypoglycemia find that it is easier to maintain their blood sugar levels if they have four or five small meals a day instead of just three. Alternatively, you can have a healthy snack such as fresh vegetables, a serving of yogurt or a handful of nuts or seeds in between meals. This keeps a steady stream of sugar flowing in the body. This is especially helpful for people who are just beginning to address their hypoglycemia issues. Over time, as your body begins to repair, you may then be able to go back to three meals daily.

Once metabolic damage has developed and you have difficulty metabolizing sugars and carbohydrates, it can then spread to not only refined white sugar and simple carbohydrates, but the body can have difficulty with any carbohydrate whether it is a whole food or not. So initially you may have to limit even wholesome carbohydrates. Some people never do well with complex carbohydrates and must limit them forever. It’s also important for women to know that hormonal fluctuations that occur with the menstrual period can also cause the blood sugar levels to drop, so you may have to be extra careful with your hypoglycemia diet during these days.

When I first started working on my hypoglycemia I had to eat every couple hours to keep my blood sugar stable, but after a couple years I was able to shift to three meals daily with an occasional snack in between. Now I eat every five hours. However, I must eat every five hours like clockwork, or I will have hypoglycemia symptoms.

There are a variety of different approaches and diets for hypoglycemia, different ones work for different people. You’ll have to experiment and find the one that works for you. Most people do best on a diet that is high in meat protein and low in carbohydrates because we don’t metabolize sugar properly. Even complex carbohydrates break down into sugar in the body, so they need to be minimized.

For example, in my own life I have found that I must eat a balanced meal that consists of a large portion of meat and vegetables, and a small amount of complex carbohydrates. I tried being a vegetarian once, but I couldn’t function. It must be meat protein; any other form of protein will not balance my blood sugar. If I don’t eat meat, and it must be at least six ounces of meat for each meal, as well as an equal amount of vegetables, I will have severe hypoglycemia. My head will spin, I’ll be dizzy, shake uncontrollably, won’t be able to concentrate, irritable, want to cry and fuzzy headed. I’ll be so weak I can’t stand up, feel like I’ll pass out and I get a migraine. It must be actual meat -- eggs, cheese, yogurt, etc., will not balance my blood sugar.

If you need help recognizing the signs of hypoglycemia, need support or help sorting out symptoms, or developing your diet, you may find Cynthia's holistic health counseling, which is available by phone, to be helpful.

Additionally, supplementing the diet with a variety of vitamins and minerals like B vitamins, magnesium, chromium, amino acids, pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and especially vitamin B3 also known as niacin, and Vitamin C will aid in the maintenance of blood sugar stability.

There are a number of illnesses and conditions that produce similar symptoms and signs of hypoglycemia, so it is necessary to consult with a health care professional that is knowledgeable in this area. Perhaps a sound nutritionist or alternative health doctor capable of diagnosing and treating hypoglycemia. The key word here is;"knowledgeable" because the average mainstream medical professional has a very limited education and understanding of the complex issues surrounding hypoglycemia.

Return from hypoglycemia back to holistic health care

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